Allergenic pollen and pollinosis in Madrid,☆☆,

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Abstract

Objective: A 15-year pollen count was performed in the atmosphere of Madrid, Spain, to determine the months in which the highest concentrations of allergenic pollens occur. Methods: Pollen counts were done with a Burkard spore trap (Burkard Manufacturing, Rickmansworth, Herst., U.K.). The results were subsequently compared with results of skin tests in patients with pollinosis born and living in and around Madrid. Results: The highest airborne presence (percent of total yearly pollen counts, mean of counts from 1979 to 1993) was for Quercus spp. (17%); followed by Platanus spp. (15%), Poaceae (15%), Cupressaceae (11%), Olea spp. (9%), Pinus spp. (7%), Populus spp. (4%), and Plantago spp. (4%). The most predominant pollens from January to April are tree pollens (Cupressaceae, Alnus, Fraxinus, Ulmus, Populus, Platanus, and Morus), although these are also abundant in May and June (Quercus, Olea, and Pinus spp.). The grass pollination period shows a double curve: the first peak occurs from February to April (8% of yearly grasses), and the second peak occurs from May to July (90% of yearly grasses). Among allergenically significant weeds, the most notable is Plantago; in contrast, Rumex, Urticaceae, Cheno-Amaranthaceae, and Artemisia spp. have very low concentrations (≤2% yearly total pollens). The most significant allergenic pollen is that of grasses, with a prevalence of positive prick test results of 94%, followed by Olea europaea (61%), Plantago lagopus (53%), Platanus hybrida (52%), and Cupressus arizonica (20%). Conclusion: The population of Madrid is exposed to high concentrations of allergenic pollen from February to July, although the most intense period is from May to June. Grass pollens are the most important cause of pollinosis in this area. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 1995;96:15-23.)

Section snippets

Pollen count

The pollen count was made according to a previously described technique5, 6 with volumetric spore traps. A Hirst spore trap (C. F. Casella Co., London, U.K.) was used from 1979 to 1981, and a Burkard trap (Burkard Manufacturing Co., Rickmansworth, Herst., U.K.) was used from 1982 to 1993. The traps were installed on the roof of our center, which is 20 m high and is located in the east of the Madrid urban area (40° 26′ N; 3° 40′ E, 640 m above sea level), with no parks or gardens nearby. Ten

Pollen counts

The months of maximum pollen concentration were March, April, May, and June. During this period, 80% of the annual total of pollen was recorded (Fig. 1). As can be seen in Table I, in the 15 years of research, 44 different pollen grains belonging to 32 families were identified and recorded.

. Weekly mean values of the total pollen counts in the Madrid atmosphere from 1979 to 1993.

Fig. 2 shows a pollen calendar for 19 pollen types for which the yearly concentrations were higher than 0.4% of the

DISCUSSION

The majority of patients living in Madrid experience their pollinosis symptoms mainly during May and June. During this period the two most frequent pollen types collected in our spore trap were Quercus rotundifolia (30% of the total pollen collected in May and June) and grasses (27%). Ninety-four percent of patients with pollinosis from this geographic area showed clearly positive SPT responses to grass pollen, whereas only 14% showed a positive reaction to Quercus spp. These facts seem to

Acknowledgements

We thank Charles D. Cohen for preparation of the manuscript and the Inmunotek Laboratory for continuous support.

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    From athe General Pardiñas Center of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Madrid; and bBotanical Royal Garden, Madrid.

    ☆☆

    Reprint requests: Javier Subiza, MD, Centro de Alergia e Inmunología Clínica, General Pardiñas, C/General Pardiñas 116, Madrid 28006, Spain.

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